In the digital arena where attention is the new currency, your social media presence is more than just a checkbox – it's a strategic lifeline.
Your social media channels are a dynamic, living ecosystem. Each post, each interaction, is a pulse of potential – connecting, converting, and carving out your brand's unique digital identity.
But here's the harsh truth: without regular, intentional examination, even the most promising social media strategy can drift into irrelevance.
That's where a social media audit comes in.
A social media audit is your mission-critical diagnostic tool for understanding what's working, what's failing, and where your untapped opportunities lie. It's not just about counting likes or tracking followers; it's about uncovering the strategic insights that can transform your social media from noise to narrative.
In this guide, we'll break down the art and science of conducting a social media audit that goes beyond surface-level metrics.
- What is a social media audit?
- Why is a social media audit important in marketing?
- How often should I do a social media audit?
- How to conduct a social media audit
- Other types of social media maintenance
- Useful tools for social media audits
What is a social media audit?
A social media audit is a check-up for your online presence to see what’s going well, what needs fixing, and what you can do better.
Hannah Wesson
Why is a social media audit important in marketing?
A social media audit is really important because it helps you take a step back and look at how well your social media efforts are working.
Understanding social performance
First, it helps you understand which platforms and types of content are performing the best. You can see what your audience likes, what gets the most engagement, and where you might be wasting time or effort. It’s also a great way to learn more about your audience – what they’re into, how they behave, and what they respond to most.
Pinpointing new opportunities
It also shows you opportunities you might be missing, like new trends, underused platforms, or different ways to connect with your audience. Plus, you can compare your performance to competitors. This can give you ideas for improving and help you see where you have an edge or where you might need to catch up.
Reena Aggarwal
Maintaining brand consistency
A big benefit is making sure your brand looks consistent. Are your profiles complete? Do they match your overall messaging and tone? If something’s off – like an old logo or outdated info – you can fix it. It’s also about using your resources wisely, focusing on what’s working instead of spreading yourself too thin.
Tracking goals easily
Another key part is tracking how well you’re meeting your goals. An audit gives you a baseline, so you can set clear objectives and measure progress over time. It’s also helpful for staying on top of social media trends and making sure you’re keeping up with changes in platforms and audience expectations.
Spotting risks
Finally, it helps you spot any risks, like inactive accounts or posts that could cause problems and ensures everything you’re doing is aligned with platform rules and legal guidelines.
How often should I do a social media audit?
If you’re struggling to remember the last time you reviewed your overarching objectives, it’s probably time to step back and do a social media audit.
In fact, routine audits should be an important element of your social media strategy. They help you identify any weak points in your approach, give you more detailed information about your audience, and help you retool your strategy to match current trends.
While in-depth annual audits and quarterly top-ups are recommended, monthly check-ins give you a real-time idea of where you’re at with your goals, making it easier to pivot and adapt as you go and achieve those overall aims.
How to conduct a social media audit
Check you’re on the right platforms
Strategically choose social media channels based on your target audience and industry. LinkedIn remains crucial for B2B marketing, with X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube continuing to be relevant.
Saima Chadney
Instagram and TikTok are increasingly important, especially as younger professionals (Gen Z and younger Millennials) gain decision-making roles in businesses. While TikTok has become more significant for B2B marketing, it requires a nuanced, professional approach that goes beyond trending dance challenges.
Facebook's importance has decreased, but it still holds value for certain demographics and industries. The key is to focus on platforms where your target audience is most active, creating tailored, platform-specific content that resonates with professional audiences
Charley Gale
Keep track of your target audience
Understanding your target audience is instrumental for an effective social media strategy. Built-in analytics now provide invaluable insights into audience engagement, allowing you to track which companies and demographics are most interested in your content.
When you analyze when your audience is most active online, you can strategically time your posts to maximize visibility and interaction.
This data-driven approach enables you to tailor your social media content and posting schedule to the specific preferences and behaviors of your target audience, ultimately improving your overall social media performance.
Charley Gale
Check what content is most popular
Identify the posts that generate the highest engagement and consider phasing out content that fails to connect, particularly if it consumes significant time and resources in your content creation process.
This strategic refinement allows you to focus your efforts on producing the most impactful and audience-aligned content.
Set your KPIs
If you don’t have a set of measurements to grade yourself against, how will you know if your social media efforts have been successful?
Before conducting your audit, establish a comprehensive framework of success measurements that align with your broader business objectives.
When developing KPIs, consider a holistic approach that encompasses multiple dimensions of social media performance:
- Engagement metrics: Analyze the depth of audience interaction, including likes, comments, shares, and saves. Look beyond surface-level numbers to understand the quality of engagement and how it translates to brand awareness and potential conversions.
- Publishing consistency: Evaluate your content frequency and scheduling. Consistent posting helps maintain audience interest and algorithm visibility. Track whether your current publishing cadence supports your marketing goals and audience expectations.
- Audience demographics: Examine the characteristics of your current followers. Compare your actual audience with your target demographic to identify potential gaps or opportunities for more targeted content strategy.
- Performance tracking: Monitor channel-specific metrics like reach, impressions, click-through rates, and referral traffic. These indicators provide insights into how effectively your content drives audience action and supports broader marketing objectives.
- Economic evaluation: Calculate your social media return on investment (ROI) by tracking budget expenditure against tangible outcomes like lead generation, website traffic, or direct sales conversions.
Pro tip: Utilize third-party analytics templates from platforms – like this one from Sprout Social – or create custom tracking sheets that reflect your unique business goals. Regularly review and adjust these KPIs to ensure they remain relevant and aligned with your evolving social media strategy.
Will Whitham
Track your website stats
When users navigate to your website from social media platforms, their subsequent actions provide critical insights into the effectiveness of your content and linking strategy.
Website analytics offer a deep dive into user engagement, revealing whether your social media traffic is genuinely valuable or merely generating superficial clicks.
Some metrics you can focus on are:
Time on site: Examine the duration visitors spend on your website after clicking through from social media. Short visit times might indicate:
- Misaligned content expectations
- Ineffective landing pages
- Irrelevant link targeting
Bounce rate: A high bounce rate suggests that visitors aren't finding the content they anticipated. This could mean:
- Misleading social media descriptions
- Content that doesn't match the linked promise
- Poor user experience or page design
Page depth and navigation: Track how many pages users visit after arriving from social media. Multiple page views indicate:
- Engaging, relevant content
- Successful internal linking
- Effective user journey design
Conversion tracking: Beyond mere website visits, monitor:
- Sign-ups
- Product purchases
- Download completions
- Contact form submissions
Teresa Garanhel
Other types of social media maintenance
1. Check your bios
If you don’t regularly check in on your social media bios, you’ll probably be surprised by how much has changed since you last updated it. Business objectives change, taglines get updated, and advertising campaigns shift focus – and your social media bios should reflect every one of these significant changes.
Your bio should be tailored to each platform and, no matter where it’s displayed, should be short, snappy, and on-brand. Make sure you’ve included an overview of your services, your location, and who you work with/for.
2. Refresh your imagery
Visual branding evolves over time and your cover photos need to keep up with that. Bonus points are available if you can update them to fit the seasons, your most current advertising campaign, or special events!
When it comes to cover photo quality, make sure you’re up to date with the latest trends. For example, most major brands have swapped out a high-resolution image in favor of a video. If you opt to make the switch, just make sure your video looks clear and loads quickly.
Div Manickam
3. Scan the web
Do a quick Google search and make sure there aren’t any profiles out there claiming to be you - or that you don’t have any old profiles of your own lingering around. If there are, you could be losing out on some business-winning followers.
If you do come across your own old profile, delete it. And if it’s someone else impersonating you, ask them to remove the page - if they don’t, report it.
4. Create new goals
Now that you’ve tracked and measured your goals, how are you going to improve and change them? Once you’ve concluded your social media audit be sure to set new goals that you hope to achieve in the next month, quarter, or year.
Useful tools for social media audits
Hootsuite Analytics
- Comprehensive platform for tracking performance across multiple social networks
- Provides detailed engagement and audience demographic insights
Sprout Social
- Offers in-depth social media analytics and reporting
- Strong competitive benchmarking features
- Helps track brand sentiment and engagement metrics
Brandwatch
- Advanced social listening and analytics platform
- Tracks brand mentions, sentiment analysis, and audience insights
- Useful for understanding broader social media landscape
Google Analytics
- Free tool to track social media traffic to your website
- Measures referral traffic from different social platforms
- Helps understand how social media drives website engagement
Native Platform Analytics
- Built-in analytics from Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, LinkedIn Analytics
- Free tools with platform-specific performance metrics
- Good for basic tracking and understanding platform-specific engagement
Final thoughts
Remember, the goal isn't perfection, but continuous improvement.
Each audit provides an opportunity to realign your strategy, optimize your content, and create more meaningful connections with your audience.
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